Rose at 5.30!!!! & arranged boox.

W.F. Beadon to Breakfast.

Hardly worked all day ― T. Potter’s Palermo only ― that last of incubi!

At 3 came Major Reynolds & Miss Yates ― & looked over Athos drawings.

At 5 Capt. (Admiral) & Mrs. Robinson, who are “as they always were.” ειναι που ηδουν,1 good & pleasant & intelligent, “rational!”

At 5.30 left card on Sir C. Jervoise ― ― returning, met Greene ―, who was succinct & clear in his recital of his family’s life: ― they were kind to me once, & Mrs. G. particularly ― but ― ……

At 7 to Mr. Sayer’s; Louisa S. & a brother of Mrs. [Shakespear] who was not prepossessing. Nor were the inner ― relazioni della famiglia ― bench’il vino fu buono.2

At dinner, the talk was much too vivid regarding  the Q. ― & Col. Phipps &c. &c. ― How Col. P. “alone kept her afloat, poor wretched woman” ― &c. ― & much more silly ― but unpleasant. The father also had no end of bits of the foolish daily papers ― about his son, & although Mrs. S. mere went into loud & endless horrors about her son & the Crimea, ― yet I could not remind her that there were hundreds as suffering ― but more unrewarded.

So I was glad of tea. Much talk of Corfû. L.S. is what we always thought, a good woman.

I left at 10.45 or 11 or later. Found letters from Venables, Miss North, & W. Nevill.

[Transcribed by Marco Graziosi from Houghton Library, Harvard University, MS Eng. 797.3.]

  1. Lear is trying to translate the previous sentence. [↩]
  2. Family relationships ― though the wine was good. [↩]